Local Station's Electric Fire Engine 'Never Used'

---

Vehicle has been based in Hammersmith for three years

London Fire Brigade's electric fire engine, ZEPA1. Picture: LFB

May 12, 2025

According to a report in the Emergency Services Times, the UK’s first ever electric fire engine based at Hammersmith station has never been on a call out.

The Zero Emission Capable Pumping Appliance (ZEPA1) was launched with great fanfare in 2022. It has the same attributes as a conventional truck with the capacity to carry 1,750 litres of water which it should be able to pump continuously for four hours as well as carrying 100 litres of foam.

It runs on a 280kWh battery giving it a theoretical 200-mile range plus a small petrol engine as a backup ‘range extender’ effectively making it a hybrid.

A standard fire engine costs in the region of a quarter of a million pounds and it is thought likely that London Fire Brigade (LFB) would have paid a higher amount that this for the ZEPA1.

London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said at the time that he was ‘incredibly proud incredibly proud to be part of the innovation that will lead to the UK’s first electric-hybrid fire engines at one of our fire stations’ and Mayor Sadiq Khan described the move as fantastic. Trials of the emissions-free vehicle as a front-line fire engine were supposed to begin in 2022.

Emergency Services Times’ reporter Tom Riley was told by a member of staff at Hammersmith recently that the appliance had never attended an incident ‘not a fire, false alarm, or even a cat stuck up a tree’. He says he requested and received confirmation from LFB that this was the case.

He quotes the spokesperson as saying, “London Fire Brigade has led the UK fire and rescue sector with the development of the Zero Emission Pumping Appliance (ZEPA) project, which marks a significant step towards meeting carbon-net zero targets.

“Developing zero emission solutions for fire engines presents unique challenges due to their demanding performance requirements. These heavy-duty vehicles must be able to respond to incidents quickly, while also sustaining prolonged water pumping and transporting equipment and machinery to deal with fires, flooding and other incidents.

“Transitioning to a zero-emissions fleet requires careful planning, delivery and resourcing and we are proactively addressing this as we continue to trial the vehicle’s capabilities.”

The electric engine is understood to be away from Hammersmith station have new breathing equipment installed to align with current standards. After this more training of crews will be required before the engine can be brought into service.

Mr Riley believes that a possible reason for the delay is an issue with the installation of a fast charger at Hammersmith Station, however it remains possible that the new technology simply doesn’t work in a live situation. LFB disputes that there is an issue with the charging infrastructure at Hammersmith and says it is fully installed.

A spokesperson for LFB told us, "ZEPA1 is a prototype designed to test the feasibility of zero-emission technology in one of the most demanding operational roles. It forms part of a long-term programme aimed at transitioning to a zero-emission fleet. The headline run in the article that it has 'not been used in three years' is inaccurate because it fails to acknowledge that it has been used in this period for essential evaluation and learning. The vehicle is not ‘delayed’, it is proceeding through its development milestones.

"This phase has been crucial to understanding operational requirements, refining the vehicle’s performance, and gathering feedback. We’re now moving into the next stage, including further trials and work on further learning. "

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.